A convicted murderer, Guy Pottle, has been incarcerated for just over 10 years with no minimum sentence recommendation after attempting to kill a recently qualified female police officer in Newton Abbot while she went to save his life.
Guy Pottle, a 39-year-old man without a permanent residence, was sentenced to prison after entering a guilty plea to counts of illegal wounding and attempted grievous bodily injury at Exeter Crown Court.
Judge James Patrick declared, “You are an extremely dangerous man and the public needs to be protected from you,” before putting him in jail.
He sentenced Pottle to ten years and six months in prison for the attempted GBH, three years concurrently for the wounding, and an additional five years because he considered Pottle to be a dangerous offender.
Just a few months into her ideal career as a police officer, PC Alice Beer grabbed Pottle’s arm to prevent him from jumping to his death.
However, Exeter Crown Court heard today that after turning to look at her, he smashed a glass bottle into the side of her skull, temporarily blinding her right eye.
The court was informed that aggressive Pottle, who was sentenced to six years in prison for manslaughter in 2019 after killing 41-year-old Antony Moore in Exeter with a single punch, climbed over the railings, seized PC Beer by the legs, and lifted her horizontally over the metal barrier.
Pottle continuously hit her in the face and head as she scrambled back onto the balcony, fearing she would die.
Before Pottle jumped over the balcony to the earth and was taken into custody, she doused him with an incapacitating spray.
“He was trying to kill me or seriously hurt me,” PC Beer stated. I believed I was going to pass away. I was terrified.
She claimed in a victim impact statement that Pottle was attempting to hurl her headfirst from the balcony and that she now experiences nightmares, flashbacks, possible PTSD, and worries that she might have to quit her “dream job.”
A 90-second bodycam video of the horrific event was shown to the court.
Pottle claimed he couldn’t recall anything about the encounter after consuming 1.5 litres of vodka.
He entered a guilty plea to the charges of illegally wounding the officer and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent to PC Beer.
Judge Patrick stated that at the time of this offence, Pottle, an alcoholic and drug abuser, was under licence due to a manslaughter conviction.
“She came to your help motivated by simply trying to do the best to help you,” the judge added, praising PC Beer’s courage.
He described the effects on her as “devastating” and described the bodycam footage as “chilling.”
ELIGIBLE FOR RELEASE – 2031
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